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5 Fattiest Fast Foods – Plus Surprisingly Fatty Picks

At the country’s top fast-food joints, there’s a chance you’ll get one even if you pick something “healthy.”

We analyzed the nutritional information and ingredients of the top five chains as recently ranked by QSR Magazine, a publication for industry insiders. (QSR is short for quick-service restaurant, the trade term for fast-food restaurants.)

Not only did we learn that some cheeseburgers contain more fat than you’re supposed to eat in an entire day, but many seemingly harmless menu options – from salads to frappes – contain trans fat. As we explained in Trans Fat: When Cheap Means Costly, the Harvard School of Public Health has called them “the worst fat for the heart, blood vessels, and rest of the body.”

Before you learn what’s really in your favorite fast-food pick, keep these other facts in mind…

Current FDA regulations allow food manufacturers to say that a food has zero grams of trans fat as long as it has less than 0.5 grams. So just because you see “0g” on a food Nutrition Facts label doesn’t mean it’s trans-fat free. It could have anywhere from 0 to 0.49 grams. The only way to know for sure is to consider the ingredients.

Experts from the American Heart Association to Dr. Oz say it’s not safe to eat any amount of artificial trans fat.

There are two types of trans fats: artificial and naturally occurring. A small amount of trans fat is found in certain meat and milk products, because it’s naturally produced in the stomachs of grazing animals like cows and sheep. You don’t need to worry about naturally occurring trans fats if you eat meat in moderation and avoid whole milk. It’s the artificial trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, that health advocates warn about.

For the average person, the FDA recommends 20 grams of saturated fat, 67 grams of total fat, and 2,000 calories per day.

Fattiest surprise: You won’t find much trans fat at Subway. Several other meat sandwiches have 0.5 grams, as does a mere 2 ounces of their ranch salad dressing, but that’s about it.

Our take: Subway doesn’t use artificial trans fats and admits a few products that contain meat or milk have “naturally occurring” trans fats. So as long as you’re wary of meat- and milk-heavy products, you can rest assured that your meal is trans-fat free.

No. 4: Wendy’s

Our take: In 2006, Wendy’s announced that it would no longer cook its fries or chicken in partially hydrogenated oils. Today, they’re still the only fast food restaurant whose fries I’d eat. And they should be commended because, unlike McDonald’s, their Nutrition Facts tool discloses all ingredients in all foods. Just don’t let your guard down: Although their site admits that “consumption of trans fats – often in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils – increases the risk of coronary heart disease,” Wendy’s still serves plenty of it. Like McDonald’s, all their hamburgers (even the junior size) have trans fat, as do their chili, Frostys, and a couple of other items.